NEWSROOM

eCommerce in Europe: trends and outlook 2011

Friday, February 18 2011

The growth of eCommerce has made it much easier for even small brands and retailers to trade outside of their domestic markets. However, while the infrastructure might be there to support this, it can still take a considerable investment in time and money to understand the intricacies of doing business in different markets. Often this leads to companies not taking advantage of these expanded markets and continuing, solely, to trade locally.

Due to operating in almost all European eCommerce markets we are in the unique position of being able to see how the different countries across Europe work within the eCommerce sector and we have compiled this information into a pan-European report, which highlights the issues and trends across the region. The following is a snap shot of our experiences.

Currently, within Europe, 70% of online sales belong to “the big online three”, with the UK generating €48 billion in sales, Germany €39.2 billion and France €25 billion. The lowest level of overall online sales was in Poland with only €3.4 billion. Even though Poland represents the lowest turnover in this sector, its eCommerce market is the fastest growing: in 2010 it has grown 36% against 2009. In terms of growth rates, France is number two at around 31%, followed by (Spain 25%) and Italy (21%). (Source: Kelkoo)